Hindi

Go Goa Gone: A well executed experiment

Published

13 years ago

May 11, 2013

MUMBAI: Ever so keen to try something new and define a new genre that the Hindi film audience is not familiar with, the filmmakers at times come up with a new idea that works. While Hollywood has been dishing out zombie movies for over 70 years now and has a repertoire of 100s of them in its archives, the Hindi film industry seems to have awakened to this genre only now. So we have the second zombie movie of the year in Go Goa Gone. Indian (more specifically Hindi movie) audience generally does not like ‘yuck‘ stuff so the two wise things that the makers have made sure while making Go Goa Gone is that, the title nor promotion material hint at zombies. The other is that, it has been made into a comedy.

Producers: Saif Ali Khan, Dinesh Vijan, Sunil Lulla.
Diretors: Raj Nidimoru, Krishna DK.
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu, Vir Das, Anand Tiwari, Puja Gupta.

Kunal Khemu, Vir Das and Anand Tiwari are buddies sharing accommodation and employed at the same work place. All three have different philosophies of life. While Khemu is happy go lucky and believes in living life on day to day basis, Das is a romantic who lives like Khemu but wants to live normal life while Tiwari is a serious kind who has no vices and is sincere about his work. Tiwari is due to go to Goa on office work and the other two decide to tag along. No sooner are they in Goa, Khemu and Das are out hunting for female company when Das meets Puja Gupta who tells him about a rave party, organised by the Russian mafia, taking place that night on an island off Goa. The boys decide to gatecrash.

At the party, alcohol, drugs and women are in free flow. Soon, a new drug specially acquired from Siberia is introduced for those who can afford it. The boys, obviously, can‘t. Next morning, the rave party is over but it has left a strange sort of after effect, all those who took the new drug have turned into zombies who, when hungry, seek human beings for food. The trio has now turned into a foursome as Gupta has joined the group. They are being chased by zombies, first by a few and later by scores of them. That is when the Mafioso, Saif Ali Khan emerges as their saviour; because he organised the rave and also introduced the drug, automatically he has become an expert on zombies overnight. According to him, there are 1399 zombies on the island since that is the number of guests he had invited and the only way to finish them was to shoot them in the head. To this end, he has already come prepared with all kinds of guns including a bazooka!

The first half of the film is racy with many witty one-liners coming from Khemu and the film so far rests on the three boys and the girl. Khan comes on the scene much later. The second half is all about continuous race to outrun zombies and some yucky scenes of zombies feasting on human bodies which may not be to everyone‘s liking.

With an acceptably limited duration of 110 minutes, the film has been well scripted with some enjoyable moments. Khemu‘s being the author backed role, he emerges the best with able support from Das and Tiwari. Gupta makes her presence felt. Khan‘s role is more like a cameo where he plays a superman like gun wielding Delhi born Russian Mafioso. Musically, Babaji ki booty is catchy. Photography is good with zombie scenes well executed. Direction is handled deftly.

Go Goa Gone is a fair entertainer but not everyone‘s cup of tea with its odd combine of wit vs gore and may end up just being an experiment.

Gippi: Modern day Ugly Duckling

Gippi bases its theme in the age old story of The Ugly Duckling written by the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen in 1843. This is story of an ugly duckling born in a barnyard who is subjected to much abuse and insults from others around him till he grows up into a beautiful swan. The story has since been adapted in various formats like opera, film, drama and animation formats.

Producers: Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar.
Director: Sonam Nair.
Cast: Riya Vij, Divya Dutta, Doorva Tripathi, Arbaz Kadwani, Jayati Modi, Taaha Shah, Mrinal Chawla, Aditya Deshpande, and guest app by Pankaj Dheer and Raqesh Vashisht.

Gippi– Riya Vij is a 14 year girl in the ninth standard who is fat, poor at sports and struggles through her studies. In fact, she has nothing going for her. However, there is one thing she is good at and that is to dance to the tunes of Shammi Kapoor‘s songs. Not that it is much use to her when she vies for attention; let alone boys not even many girls want to be her friend. Her total friends list includes Doorva Tripathi and a boy who has a crush on her. Vij is always made fun of and made to look small in front of other classmates by the top ranker, slim and well turned out class prefect, Jayati Modi. Modi excels in sport, always gets 90 per cent plus grades and is presentable; in fact everything that Vij is not, but aspires to be.

Things are not so great for Vij at home either. Though her mother, Divya Dutta, gives her and her brother, Arbaz Kadwani, the best possible upbringing while managing her beauty parlour, her father, Pankaj Dheer, is about to marry a gori ma‘am; a fact, which while making her mother always sad, deprives her of a male support at her crucial growing up years.

It is at Dheer‘s engagement ceremony that she meets a senior from her school, Taaha Shah with whom she bonds well but makes the mistake of taking his casual friendship as a budding romance. The realisation comes with humiliation in front of all her classmates at a party that romance was the last thing on Shah‘s mind.

Finally, the cause to face up to her small world and be accepted for what she is comes when she is challenged by Modi to contest school head girl elections against her and win. Shaky at first, Vij takes up the challenge. She succeeds in conveying to other students that she is not perfect, nor are they and hence she is one of them. The underdog wins.

Is there an audience for Gippi kind of a film? Who does it cater to? An acceptable teenage story is generally about 16 to 19 and usually romance. Not many would identify with a 14 year school girl‘s problems however good the intentions. Story and direction by Sonam Nair are routine. Performances are generally average except those of Dutta and Kadwani. Old Shammi Kapoor songs provide some relief.

Related Topics:Anand Tiwari experimentation Go Goa Gone Kunal Khemu Vir Das

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Boney Kapoor acquires remake rights of Tamil political satire Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimaiyil

Strong word-of-mouth turns Pongal satire into remake pick

Published

1 day ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A Pongal release, a village satire and a theatre visit in Coimbatore have turned into Boney Kapoor’s latest acquisition. The producer has secured the remake rights to the Tamil political satire Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimaiyil (TTT), a film that has been enjoying a strong theatrical run powered by word-of-mouth and praise for its sharp, rooted writing.

Set in a rural milieu, the story follows a panchayat leader thrown into disarray when a wedding and a funeral land on the same day. What unfolds is a swirl of satire and humour that skewers local politics, power games, bruised egos and family tensions, all anchored in the textures of everyday village life.

Kapoor first encountered the film earlier this year while in Coimbatore for the Celebrity Cricket League. With time to spare, he caught a screening at a local theatre. That viewing proved decisive. According to sources, the narrative style, performances and the film’s balance of political commentary and comedy caught his attention.

Interest quickly turned into intent. Kapoor reached out to the producers soon after to explore a remake. Talks gathered pace over the following weeks and came to a head last Friday at the film’s success party in Chennai, where Kapoor joined the celebrations and continued negotiations with the makers.

By the end of the evening, the deal was sealed, with Kapoor formally acquiring the remake rights.

For an industry constantly mining regional cinema for the next crossover story, the move is telling. A small-town satire with local flavour has found a national backer. And if Kapoor’s instincts hold, a tale born in one village may soon echo far beyond it.

Hindi

Fans take centre stage as Zee Cine awards turns the spotlight around

Published

3 days ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the applause gets louder than the dialogue, you know the fans have taken over. That was the unmistakable mood as Zee formally announced the Zee Cine Awards 2026, flipping the script to celebrate not just cinema’s stars, but the people who cheer them on the loudest.

The 24th edition of the awards marks a fresh chapter in Zee’s long-standing relationship with Hindi cinema, anchored in its fan-first philosophy, Fantertainment. This year’s theme, ‘Yeh Pal Hai Fans Ka’, reinforces a simple idea: cinema’s most powerful moments are shaped as much by audiences as by actors on screen. Presented by Maruti Suzuki, the awards aim to turn fandom into the main event.

The announcement, held in Mumbai, was anything but a routine press conference. Bollywood stars Akshay Kumar, Tamannaah Bhatia, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Aparshakti Khurana, composer Mithoon and singer Palak Muchhal joined fans to kick off the celebrations, turning the launch into a high-voltage, participative spectacle.

Staying true to the theme, fans didn’t just watch the announcement, they drove it. Akshay Kumar took the lead, pulling fellow stars on stage and energising the room, before the unveiling of a live LED Fan Meter. Powered purely by audience cheers, the rising meter culminated in the reveal of the Zee Cine Awards 2026 ground event date, announced in unison with fans, blurring the line between performer and spectator.

The momentum continued as Tamannaah Bhatia, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa and Aparshakti Khurana recreated iconic hook steps, joined by Mithoon and Palak Muchhal for music-led interactions. Games, spontaneous performances and playful banter kept the focus firmly on shared moments, underscoring the evolving bond between cinema and its audience.

Beyond the launch, the awards will roll out as a multi-platform journey across television, digital, print and fan-led experiences. The aim is sustained engagement from the first announcement to awards night cementing fandom as a cultural force rather than a footnote.

Commenting on the milestone edition Zee head of advertisement revenue, broadcast & digital Laxmi Shetty said the 24th Zee Cine Awards continue to draw strength from the network’s omni-channel ecosystem, reflecting how audiences consume content today across TV, digital and social platforms. She noted that long-standing brand associations, including Maruti Suzuki’s three-year partnership and support from brands such as Hell Energy, underline the platform’s scale, trust and cultural relevance.

As Zee Cine Awards 2026 gathers pace, one thing is clear: this year, the loudest cheers won’t just echo in the auditorium, they’ll shape the show itself.

Hindi

Prime Video to stream Don’t Be Shy, produced by Alia Bhatt

Published

2 weeks ago

January 30, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Prime Video has found its next feel-good original, and it comes with a healthy dose of heart, humour and youthful chaos. The streaming platform has announced Don’t Be Shy, a coming-of-age romantic comedy produced by Alia Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt under their banner, Eternal Sunshine Productions.

Written and directed by Sreeti Mukerji, the film follows Shyamili ‘Shy’ Das, a 20-year-old who believes her life is neatly mapped out until it suddenly is not. What follows is a relatable tumble through friendship, love and the awkward art of growing up, when plans unravel and certainty gives way to self-discovery.

The project is co-produced by Grishma Shah and Vikesh Bhutani, with music composed by Ram Sampath, adding to the film’s promise of warmth and energy. Prime Video describes the story as light-hearted yet emotionally grounded, with a strong female-led narrative at its core.

Prime Video India director and head of originals Nikhil Madhok, said the platform was delighted to collaborate with Eternal Sunshine on a story that blends sincerity with humour. He noted that the film’s fresh writing, earnest characters and infectious music make it an easy, engaging watch for audiences well beyond its young adult setting.

For Alia Bhatt, Don’t Be Shy reflects the kind of storytelling Eternal Sunshine set out to champion. She said the film stood out for its honesty, its coming-of-age perspective and Mukerji’s passion, which she felt was deeply woven into the narrative. Bhatt also praised Prime Video for supporting distinctive voices and bold creative choices.

With its breezy tone and familiar emotional beats, Don’t Be Shy aims to charm viewers whether they are rom-com regulars or simply in the mood for a warm, unpretentious story about life refusing to stick to the plan.